Device for cleaning teeth.



J. A. DALY.

DEVICE FOR CLEANING TEETH.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 6, 1916.

1,230,683. Patented June 19, 1917.

JOHN A. DALY, or NEW noci-Inman, NEW YORK.

DEVICE FOR VCII'JEAN'IING TEETH.

To all whom t may concern."

Be it known that I, JOHN A. DALY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Rochelle Park, New Rochelle, in the county of Westchesterand State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Devices for Cleaning Teeth, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to devices for cleaning the teeth, and moreparticularly that class ofl such devices which are adapted to be placedupon thetip of the nger and held thereon by means of the elasticity ofthe teeth cleaning -member, and it has for its primary object theprovision of such a device in which the elastic member is provided withan additional cleaning and polishing surface formed of suitable flexiblematerial adapted to form a secondary finger cot to overlie the elasticfinger cot which fits `the finger tip.

A further object of the invention is to provide a finger cot of thecharacter set forth with means to preventv -any constriction of the tipof the finger and to permit circulation of air around the tip of thefinger incased by said finger cot.

A still further object of this invention is.

to provide a modified form of the device more particularly adapted lforuse in hospitals or other institutions where the user thereof issuffering from an infectious or contagious disease, whereby theteethcleaning portion of the device may be removed and thrown away afterthe device has been used.

With the foregoing and other objects in view as will from time to timehereinafter appear this invention consists in the particularcombination'and arrangement of the various parts of a device forcleaning the teeth as described in the following specification and moreparticularly set forth in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings illustrating the essentialfeatures of the invention and in which the same reference charactersindicate the same parts wherever used Figure 1 is-a perspective view ofthe prefer-red embodiment of the device;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of an enlarged scale of the deviceshown in Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 and 4 are views of modified forms, und

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June-19, 1917, v

Application filed November 6, 1916. i Serial No. ILftPL'ifS.

Fig." 5- is a cross section on an enlarged scale of the device shown inFig. 4. 6 designates the ordinary form of rubber finger cot tooth-brushwhich is provided with a plurality of upstanding teeth-cleaningprojections 7, the said finger cot being adapted to be'worn upon the endof a finger and to be used in` this position to clean the teeth. rlheforward end of the member 6 is provided with a small aperture 8 whichpermits the egress of air from the interior of the member 6 when thesame is placed upon the finger, thus permitting the fmember to slideeasily upon the finger and to set rmly 1n place.

In accordance with the present invention a second member 9 similar tothe memberfil but formed of suitable textile material adapted to presenta rough surface, is placed 0.ver the member 6, the ,projections 7 ofwhich project .upwardly through the textile covering 9 with a portion oftheir length projecting above the surface of the textile fabric.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3, the finger-cot 6 is incased bymeans of a second finger cot 9 formed of similar textile material but ofcloser weave than that in the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2,so that the projections 7 do not project'through the member 9 but areincased. thereby.

In the modifications shown in Figs. 4 and `5, the construction of themember 6 is modified so that the underside thereof is provided with aplurality of longitudinally extending convolutions 10 which permit acirculation of air between the finger cot '6 and the finger incasedthereby, in or'der to prevent any constriction of the finger bytheelastic portion 6. In the construction of the other two forms of thisinvention the finger cot 6 isincased by' a second finger cot 9 ofsuitable flexible material.

The operation of the device is as follows: In the constructions shown inFigs. 1 and '2 the device is placed upon the end of the finger asdescribed and the teeth cleansed by means of the projections 7 acting inconjunction with hthe adjacent textile surface of the member 9 when theteeth may be polished by using the reverse or underside 11 of the devicewhich is free from the projections 7 and which presents only the textilesurface. In theconstructions shown in Figs. 3 to 5 the operation ofthedevice is the same with theexception that the second cot 9 may beremoved and thrown away after each use.

I realize that considerable variation is possible in the details ofconstruction and arrangement of parts Without departing from the spiritof my invention, and I therefore do not intend to limit myself to thespecific form shown and described.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as nev7 and-desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device Jfor cleaning the teeth, the combination with a Enger cotprovided with a plurality of teeth cleaning projections extendingtherefrom, of a second cot adapted to incase said rst named cot and tobe held thereon by said projections.

2. In a device for cleaning the teeth, the combination with a linger cothaving a plurality of teeth cleaning projections thereon,

of'a second cot adapted to incase said -rst named cot, the projectionsof said first named cot passing through interstices in the second namedcot to hold the same in position.

3.v In a device for cleaning teeth, the combination of an elastic fingercot adapted to incase the end of a finger and provided on one side Witha plurality of corrugations to reduce the pressure upon the finger andhave ing on its outer surface a plurality of teeth cleaning4 projectionsextending therefrom and a second cot of textile material adapted toincase said irst named cot and be hel in place by said projections.

In testimony whereof I aHX my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

`JOI-IN A. DALY. Witnesses;

F. C. HARNES, MoNA DALY.

